South Sudan: The resumption of oil export and the thorny road ahead Written by Mawan Muortat, The New Sudan Vision (NSV), newsudanvision.com Monday, 08 April 2013 11:06
(Juba, South Sudan) - Now that the oil is flowing again, genuine discussion among South Sudanese can now happen without fear of jeopardising the delicate talks between the two sides. We congratulate the negotiators and the AUHIP mediators for their tireless efforts and unbound commitment. Let's rejoice for the new page that has been turned between Sudan and South Sudan, and pray for further progress in the remaining differences. Even as we celebrate and remember the closeness between the two peoples we must not take our eyes off the reasons why we quarrelled in the first place - separate and equal is better than united and unequal. We hope indeed that better news will come in the near future. Khartoum knows that it is holding our dear Ngok people ransom over Abiei and there are also the other border issues to be overcome. Natures’ inclination to push neighbours into cooperation will eventually prevail over the short sighted designs of either side. In South Sudan people remain cautiously optimistic; the deep seated mistrust of their northern neighbour will take time to diminish. It's been well over a year since the government in South Sudan took the agonising decision of shutting down the oil production to stop what they described then as ‘theft’ of the oil by Khartoum. It is easy to forget, in the currently celebratory atmosphere, that it was a very unpopular decision internationally. Few outside South Sudan approved of it or understood it or bothered to listen to or answer South Sudan’s complaint. South Sudan was isolated and accused of ignorance and naivety. Emotionally remote pundits as usual predicted immediate economic collapse and internal strife. Thank God, neither came to fruition although the economy has shrunk dramatically. People faced severe hardship and the initial popularity of the oil closure began to wane, but they persevered till the end. And let’s hope it is truly the end. No protest took place whether against the harsh austerity measures where government employees went unpaid for many months, the sky rocketing inflation or the oil shutdown itself. Everyone knew the government was blameless on this particular issue; recognising that Khartoum was still fighting them even if it was no longer raining bombs over them; and that the world was ready, as they have always done, to look on or expect them to submit to the whims of their foe. South Sudanese have once again shown that they are capable of pulling together when necessary. For those who still doubt the soundness of the oil shutdown decision they have to weigh the gains made as the result of the oil shutdown against the losses suffered as a result. South Sudan can proceed with its wish to build an alternative oil pipe or two; it can proceed with building its own refineries and has reached a deal on fair export charges with Sudan. Remember also, that South Sudan is not bound to export the oil via Sudan indefinitely; the current deal expires in three years. It is of course in its own interest to renew the deal when it ends but it shouldn't feel compelled to do so if a cheaper option presents itself. All these are on paper and legally binding as the CPA was. Khartoum no longer has claims over South Sudan’s oil. The situation was much more opaque before the shutdown. Another side effect of the shutdown and the austerity measures it triggered is that the government has had to learn how to count its money and how to improve tax collection. Let’s hope that these lessons will not be forgotten when the petrodollars begin to flow in again. That was what to be celebrated, let's now look at what to be anxious about moving forward. It goes without saying that apart from security the issues of national unity, corruption, service delivery and development are of special importance. Somebody once defined nationalism as an irrational hatred of neighbouring countries. Although hatred is too strong a word, that definition closely matches what I observed during my recent stay in South Sudan. South Sudanese accuse the people from neighbouring countries who have moved into the country in recent years of taking away their jobs, introducing new heinous crimes, corrupting officials through bribery and spreading sexually transmitted diseases through prostitution. These accusations are baseless but of interest here is the fact that South Sudanese already view themselves as different from their neighbours even though they don’t yet agree on who they themselves are! Are they one people, an amalgam of allied peoples or should we say a collection of competing peoples? Xenophobia is unjust and must be fought; distinguishing ourselves from others is not necessarily a bad thing however. It is a collective feeling we experience and has its roots in our shared history when we resisted the Egyptians, the British and the North Sudanese. We need more than this though to become a nation - a mission by the way that many great and old nations are still grappling with. We need to accept, respect, view each other as equals and grant each other the rights that we each deserve as fellow countrymen - or countrypersons to not marginalise the other 50%! The plague of corruption which has grown deep roots in the country so soon after its bright revolution is truly regrettable and troublesome. Society cannot prosper without fair play. No individual or group should be allowed to benefit on the expense of others, least the others will start mimicking them and the whole society will collapse. Yes, it is a global problem and an African one particularly. But our country cannot afford it; we had a revolution whose vision and dreams inspired generations. These hopes should not be allowed to evaporate so easily. We cannot just blame the government because the plague is in each and every one of us. If the current government were replaced by a completely new set of individuals would the results be any different? Our current malign attitudes are a result of a disorderly, rushed and destructive transition from our traditional socio-economic structures into the so called modernity which we neither understand nor fully subscribe to. I say this because I know that all South Sudanese communities are characteristically honest: in the villages theft was rare and deeply frowned upon and kindness to strangers was the norm. Today it is said corrupt rich officials are described as 'brave', 'daring' or 'clever'!! Fixing our society will therefore be a tall order but we can begin by aiming to always say and do what is right and to expect that from others. The government must also do its bit in fighting corruption and building the nation - saying and doing the right thing! It should initiate ground breaking plans for service delivery and development and must be prepared to accept the ultimate responsibility for any failure. It's about time that the long suffering people begin to taste the fruits of their struggle. Some are already questioning the rationale of our struggle and suggesting that the whole South Sudan project is already failing. It is true that most of these are the “usual suspects”; those who were all along on the wrong side of the struggle - the discredited and the disgraced opposition. It should be remembered though that they are South Sudanese, with equal rights under our constitution. They have a voice and can pose a real democratic threat to the people’s revolution. Suppressing them forcibly is not an option either. It will only gain them sympathy and cost the government its moral high ground and international friends. The people’s revolution should wake up from its slumber be it real or perceived and once again make a difference and bring hope to the lives of the people. Media rhetoric and the daily parading of officials and their itinerary on TV can no longer wash. *Mawan Muortat is a Juba-based IT professional and a contributor to the New Sudan Vision. He can be reached at [email protected] This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it " -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
